Accra, April 15, GNA – Huawei has launched its Leadership, Employability, Advancement and Possibility (LEAP) digital skills development programme to advance the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills of more than 100,000 people across the Sub-Saharan Africa within three years.
The LEAP programme will be rolled out based on the company’s investment in the region and will see more than 1,200 instructors to facilitate 3,000 ICT courses.
It will also fund a number of facilities including training centres, hardware installation bases, innovation hubs, mirror labs, and ICT academies.
Huawei currently has ICT academies in more than 300 universities and colleges in the region.
A statement issued by Huawei in Accra said the LEAP was aimed at fostering strong digital leadership and a skilled ICT workforce, building a digital talent pool, and promoting digital literacy among citizens.
It included a wide range of activities spanning ICT training and certification courses, government digital capacity building and ICT skills competitions.
Mr Leo Chen, Huawei Southern Africa President, launching the LEAP, emphasised the importance of ICT skills transfer and talent development and said Huawei prioritised those projects.
“Digitisation is deeply rooted in people. Because we digitise for people and by people. When roots are deep, there is no need to fear the wind,” he said.
“Through the programme, we strive to cultivate more youth leaders in ICT, who can explore more possibilities for themselves, their families, community and ultimately their nations.”
Over the past two decades Huawei had helped to advance the ICT skills of more than 80,000 people across the region.
He said in so doing, it had helped to increase youth employability and bridge the gender gap in the ICT industry and it was an employer of choice in the region.
“Its subsidiaries in nine Sub-Saharan African countries earned the Top Employer seal in 2021,” he added.
Mr Chen called for close collaboration between government, industry, and academia to create an ecosystem that everyone could contribute to and benefit from.
Ms Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, the South African Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, said COVID-19 took the world to the digital era, but “we should not need a pandemic to do this for us in the future, we need to be deliberate and intentional to leapfrog our countries.”
He said there was a need for innovation and support for local innovators to promote local platforms throughout the Continent to develop economies.
Professor Eliamani Sadoyeka, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education Science and Technology, Tanzania, said the power of ICT should never be underestimated.
“ICT has given us almost equal access to knowledge. Once a young mind is connected, a girl from the village in Africa will have the same access to knowledge as a boy in Copenhagen,” he said.
Dr John Chrysestom Muyingo, Ugandan State Minister for Higher Education of Ministry of Education and Sports said: “We partnered with Huawei on initiatives like the Seeds for the Future, the ICT Competitions through the Huawei ICT Academies established in Uganda.”
More than 15 000 students from over 200 universities and colleges in Sub-Saharan Africa participated in the 2021-2022 Huawei ICT Competition.
From the 48 competing teams, Nigerian and Kenyan teams won first prize in the regional final. Teams from Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania claimed second prize.
Ashtone Onyango, a member of the winning Kenyan team, said: “Huawei’s ICT Competition has provided students like me with a network of industry trainers, instructors, and learning tools, allowing us to obtain a competitive advantage and engage with other students on the global stage.”
“This is crucial for students as it not only helps them enhance their abilities but also increases their job market competitiveness.”
Over the past five years, 80,000 university students from Africa registered for the competition, and more than 20 teams entered the global finals.
GNA